Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger led America’s crusade against drugs

Harry Anslinger is best known as the first head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), the first in the lineage of agencies that ultimately merged to become the Drug Enforcement Administration. His tenure, from 1930 to 1962, coincided with a growing public and governmental concern over drug addiction, leading him to advocate for strict policies and enforcement.

He also was among the first law enforcement officials to publicly recognize the threat of organized crime, which was deeply involved in drug trafficking.

Anslinger played a pivotal — and polarizing — role in shaping U.S. drug policy, notably through his efforts to criminalize marijuana, using racially charged rhetoric and exaggerated claims about its dangers. His legacy remains controversial, as his initiatives laid the groundwork for the “War on Drugs,” influencing perceptions of drug use and addiction that persist today. Critics argue that his methods contributed to systemic inequalities and mass incarceration, while others view his efforts as necessary responses to public health concerns. Overall, Anslinger’s impact on drug policy and societal attitudes toward narcotics continues to be debated and studied.

Birth of the Bureau of Narcotics

The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act placed some narcotics under tight restrictions when it went into effect in 1915. The law had more to do with revenue than combating the steadily growing problems of drug trafficking and addiction. Illicit narcotics, primarily opiates, were entering the country from the Far East and Europe with little interruption. By 1930, some federal officials were looking to halt the flow of drugs.

Anslinger had been involved in Prohibition enforcement, but it was clear that Prohibition would soon end. Always keen on maintaining relevance, Anslinger was ready to focus his efforts on a new public menace. Other ideological crusaders, including Charles H. Tuttle, would pave the way for him.

Tuttle, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1927 to 1930, strongly advocated for addressing the government’s failing efforts to slow drug trafficking. He argued for the Porter Narcotics Bill, which called for centralized drug enforcement. After some initial pushbacks and tweaks, the bill passed and became law. The new law created the Bureau of Narcotics, and in September 1930, Anslinger was named the first official chief of the new agency.

Unlike the FBI, the Bureau of Narcotics did not report to the Justice Department, but instead to the Treasury. Anslinger’s methods were also markedly different from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s. The latter maintained strict protocol and an image of who and what made an agent.

Anslinger didn’t shy away from “unconventional” methods. He afforded his agents the creative license to play by the same rules as their adversaries. Despite the agency’s sometimes-questionable practices, some historians find the FBN’s archives and surveillance of organized crime considerably more in-depth and expansive than what most other law enforcement agencies of that era produced.

When Prohibition ended in 1933, Anslinger set his sights on a substance more accessible than harder drugs: marijuana. The drug, which he perceived as popular in the Black and Hispanic communities, became illegal in 1937, thanks in large part to his efforts to demonize the plant and its users.

A proxy war

The FBN engaged in its battle on multiple levels. As the leader, Anslinger spread his message at events in both the U.S. and abroad. His charged rhetoric proved effective.

Both the FBI and FBN maintained extensive secret files and records of their suspects. However, the FBN’s database contained a more detailed blacklist of suspected drug traffickers, which outlined their connections, ethnic backgrounds and the general structures of their organizations.

Gathering information was a strong strategy, but sharing that information was even more crucial. While Anslinger’s agents collected intelligence worldwide, the fight from headquarters often relied on the media. Well-crafted messages could sway public opinion without needing solid evidence, effectively bypassing traditional government processes.

Anslinger had a particular disdain for minority celebrities and pop culture because of their impact on public views about drug use. He saw drug addiction as a moral issue that harmed society, and he worried that famous individuals might make drug use seem acceptable, especially in the jazz community. He once wrote a memo saying jazz musicians “reek of filth.”

One of the artists Anslinger targeted was the jazz singer Billie Holiday. Anslinger focused on her heroin use and her performance of “Strange Fruit,” a song that condemned racism and lynching in America. He believed her fame promoted drug culture. His attempts to undermine and prosecute her were part of a larger effort to control drugs and uphold societal standards, reflecting his view that celebrities should set a good example. Ultimately, Anslinger’s hostility was believed to be largely fueled by personal biases, racial prejudice and a desire to maintain social order.

In 1947, Anslinger took aim at exiled Mafia boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano by making empty threats that caused Cuba to expel him from the island. Anslinger threatened an embargo on medicinal narcotics if they did not remove Luciano. However, he had no real power to enforce it.  Declassified State Department documents show that officials were unaware of Anslinger’s threat until Cuban officials expressed their annoyance and offense. FBI documents also confirmed that “no actual embargo had been placed on shipments of narcotics to Cuba, despite claims to the contrary.”

This incident turned Anslinger and Luciano into bitter rivals. They exchanged barbs through the media. In a 1959 interview with Jack Anderson, Luciano did not hold back when discussing Anslinger. “Whenever Anslinger’s ulcer flares up, he takes it out on me,” Luciano said. “I wish he would either get rid of the ulcer or die from it.”

“I do not have ulcers,” Anslinger retorted, “But if I do, I won’t call them ‘Lucky.’ They will be ‘Unlucky.’”

The later years

After 32 years, Anslinger retired as head of the FBN in 1962. Upon retiring, he received a plaque from the “Citizens of Blair County,” where his hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania, is located. It now hangs in the Blair County Courthouse.

After Anslinger retired, he continued to fight against drug trafficking and gave media interviews to further his message. In a digital exhibit about Anslinger, the DEA Museum quotes a 1968 TV interview: “When asked to justify penalties for marijuana when alcohol also contributes to traffic fatalities, Anslinger responded, ‘Why condone a second hazard?’”

Over the course of his life, he co-wrote three books about narcotics trafficking and organized crime. In his 1961 book The Murderers: The Shocking Story of the Narcotics Gangs, Anslinger reported that the FBN had built a drug case against mobster and Las Vegas casino owner Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel “that was about to be sprung” when Siegel was assassinated on June 20, 1947.

In the same book, Anslinger touts his agency’s longstanding efforts to fight the Mafia, while other law enforcement leaders, such as the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover, downplayed the significance of a national syndicate. “I am proud that it was the Bureau of Narcotics which led the way in exposing the activities of this organization,” he wrote. “We revealed the existence of [the] Mafia when many officials insisted that the organization, its rituals and rules and punishments, were largely myths. …”

The Federal Bureau of Narcotics experienced a significant transformation and restructuring in 1968 when it merged with the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control. This newly formed entity was designated as the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which combined with more federal agencies in 1973 to become to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In 1971 Washington Post writer Michael Kernan interviewed Anslinger and praised him: “This is the man who, perhaps more than any other individual, erased opium addiction in America, made cocaine a rarity for decades, outlawed marijuana and made possible today’s international network for the control of narcotics.”

While Kernan’s piece was glorifying, it did note some of the dissenting opinions. He cited a headline from another newspaper that called Anslinger “the man who turned the whole world off” and included the Mafia’s unflattering take: “That bastard Anslinger.” Anslinger frequently targeted the Mob when other federal law enforcement agencies had different priorities. Anslinger himself said: “There were only three of us in law enforcement who believed in the Mafia in those days.”

Anslinger’s legacy is a complex web of moral conviction intertwined with punitive measures that many argue contributed to systemic injustices in drug enforcement policies. Today, as society grapples with the consequences of his era’s drug policies and seeks reform, his life serves as a critical study in the intersection of law, ethics and public health.

Anslinger died in a hospital near his home in Altoona on November 14, 1975. He was 83.

Christian Cipollini is an organized crime historian and the award-winning author and creator of the comic book series LUCKY, based on the true story of Charles “Lucky” Luciano.